Governor Henry McMaster said Wednesday he wants to end refugee resettlement from six countries on President Trump’s controversial travel ban list.

McMaster submitted the request to the federal government’s Office of Refugee Resettlement this week. The governor said he has concerns about instability in those countries undermining background checks and other vetting efforts.

But very few refugees from those countries come to South Carolina. Lutheran Services Refugee Program Manager Lindsay LaDuc says the governor’s stance is still discouraging.

“As far as the countries that Gov. McMaster is looking to ban from South Carolina, we have had every little refugees from those countries,” LaDuc said. “I think the most recent family came from Iran and that was about nine months ago.

Crews place a ring around the would-be containment vessel in February (Image: SCE&G)

Several South Carolina Electric & Gas customers banded together to file an 11-point class-action suit for what they claim was negligence and misrepresentation after the utility shut down construction on two nuclear reactors at its V.C. Summer plant last month.

“We think that SCE&G probably waited too long to notify the public about closing the plant,” attorney Ed Bell who represents the plaintiffs in the class action suit said. “They probably knew earlier than what was given to the public that this project was in jeopardy and in peril.”

The lawsuit claims SCE&G led the public astray when it gave misleading information about the project while seeking permission from the state Public Service Commission to raise rates. The lawsuit claims SCE&G, “realized a non-gratuitous benefit when it received billion of dollars to complete the project and received profits of 10 percent of the gross amount of the project for managing construction.”

Bell believes that customers should receive compensation for the money they’ve invested to the plant through rate hikes. As a start, Bell wants a judge to halt a $1.4 billion settlement between the company and its lead design contractor Westinghouse after Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy and ended its contract on the project.

“There was a refund for $1.4 billion,” Bell said. “I think it is important that that money be redistributed back to the rateholders.”

An SCE&G spokeswoman said the company does not comment on pending lawsuits, but said she was confident the utility met all its legal requirements. The lawsuit has 11 named plaintiffs but is open to adding more as the lawsuit progresses. A judge would need to approve its class-action status moving forward. By the terms laid out in the lawsuit, anyone who paid over $100 to SCE&G during the construction of the V.C. Summer plant is eligible to join.

Bell said he does not want SCE&G to end up in bankruptcy like Westinghouse. Bell said he asked for the company’s asssets to be frozen to ensure the utility keeps its ability to repay customers.

“We want them to be cognizant of their duties that might occur as a result of this lawsuit,” Bell said.

SCE&G plans to repay $4.9 billion in debt and abandonment costs through use a combination of tax deductions, Westinghouse settlement money and customer power bills for the next 60 years. The utility withdrew its initial plan last week so state lawmakers had time to learn about the failure before SCE&G resubmits the plan. Cooper has not yet come up with a plan to repay roughly $4 billion in debt the state-owned utility accumulated during construction.

Columbia Police acquired a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle as part of the program. The agency was later required to return the equipment (File)s Veterans Day parade last year

The Trump Administration has indicated it will reverse another Obama-era regulation and allow police forces to receive surplus military equipment. But South Carolina U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford indicated he does not support the idea.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday announced the president would reinstate the 1033 Program through executive order. The program allows the Defense Department to transfer some of its surplus vehicles, weapons and other equipment to local law enforcement agencies. President Obama suspended the program amid criticism of police militarization during 2014 protests and riots in Ferguson, Missouri.

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford said he would prefer the surplus items be auctioned off. “Our federal government is $20 trillion in debt, and now we’re going to begin a giveaway program from the federal government to local and state law enforcement agencies,” he said in a Facebook post. “This program has been heavily abused because we oftentimes discount the things we get for free and value the things that we pay for.” Sanford said he noticed several small sheriff’s departments in South Carolina would use the program to obtain equipment they did not actually need.

But Gov. Henry McMaster released his own statement in support of the action. “The men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line every single day – willing to give theirs in order to protect ours,” the statement read. “By fully restoring the 1033 military surplus program, President Trump has once again demonstrated his unflinching dedication to our nation’s law enforcement officers and their families.”

U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan also supported suspending the program back in 2014, but has not yet commented publicly on the Trump Administration’s move. Duncan said in 2014 he thought armored personnel carriers were “overkill” for police departments.

Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster defended the program, saying the carriers would have come in handy during a 2003 standoff in Abbeville County involving his department. In that incident, a family protesting a road construction project killed a state constable, shot an Abbeville County deputy, and held officers at bay for 14 hours as they unsuccessfully tried to rescue the mortally wounded deputy.

“They had to improvise to get the officer out that had been shot and wounded, because nobody in that area had anything that could withstand the onslaught they were facing,” Foster said.

Congress created the 1033 Program in 1990 to help departments with drug enforcement efforts. It eventually expanded to any law enforcement agency and involved more than $5.3 billion in surplus equipment from 1990-2014, according to the White House.

A report from Politico says the Democratic National Committeestarted–up opposition research on potential Republican candidates who could run against President Donald Trump in 2020. One of the names on the list hails from South Carolina in United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley.

“Nikki Haley [was] the governor and she has a lot of support so there may be a primary here with her running,” said Clemson political science professor of David Woodard after hearing the reported list of names the DNC is targeting.

Since 1976 when Ronald Reagan ran against Gerald Ford, “no president has ever withstood a challenge in his own party for his second term,” said Woodard. “New Hampshire and South Carolina being early primary states are the showdown where this occurs.”

The last time a candidatetried unseat a president from his own party was in 1992, when Pat Buchanan ran against George H.W. Bush. Bush won the primary but Clinton won the presidential election.

Some Republicans likeSen. Lindsey Graham have become frequent critics of President Trump, but Woodard says don’t be fooled by language in thinking that a Republican challenger may emerge in 2020. Woodard says the old adage holds true in politics, ‘actions speak louder than words.’

Despite harsh language appearing on news programs, Republican voting in Congress remains aligned and united under the president’s agenda. Woodard says President Trump will not likely face opposition in his own party unless he started losing those votes in Congress.

“People are reluctant to abandon a president that has won the presidency because they fear the other party might win if they do that,” said Woodard. “even though they may not like him they fell like he has the right initial after his name.”

SCRN covers news across the whole state so we assembled a single eclipse guide for Columbia, Charleston and Greenville on our favorite events.

Columbia

State Museum
The State Museum will use telescopes and other instruments to give the full scientific rundown about the eclipse. The event will feature former Apollo 16 NASA Astronaut Gen. Charles Duke.

Sesquicentennial State Park Paddle Party
Sesquicentennial State Park wants you to get out on the water for the eclipse. They will offer canoes and kayaks while supplies last but also encourage visitors to bring their own boats out on the lake for a viewing from the water. Guides will talk about the park and the resources as well has provide glasses if folks need them.

Robert Mills House and Garden
On Friday, The Robert Mills House will host its massive water balloon fight — for adults only. Drinks and appetizers will be served for the 21-and-up crowd. On the actual day of the eclipse, the grounds will open up for live music and activities for kids to explore the eclipse in a natural setting.

Saluda Shoals Eclipse Extravaganza
Eclipse events begin on Sunday at Saluda Shoals with a 5K run followed by a street party with live music and craft beer. Then on Monday, Saluda Shoals will open up for games activities and snow cones. Local NASA Systems Ambassador Larry Metcalf will guide visitors through the eclipse using video monitors. Visitors can also bust out their kayaks and canoes to go watch the eclipse from the river.

USC Physics Department Eclipse Experts at USC: “Myth, History, and Science”
If the science of the eclipse fascinates you, try the USC Physics Department on Sunday for a full day of presentations about solar phenomenon from scientist across the east coast. Presentations run from 2-4 p.m. This event will feature commentary about the eclipse itself but also a history of beliefs and superstitions surrounding total eclipses throughout human history.

City Roots- Paella Party and Low Country Boil
City Roots would think that there is little in life that you should do without food nearby. The eclipse is not an exception. City Roots will host a Lowcountry boil (and vegetarian options) for the eclipse, along with a cash bar. They’ll have live music and provide NASA-approved eclipse glasses.

McKissick Museum
Naturalist Rudy Mancke will lead museum visitors through a history of past eclipses and then take them out to the University of South Carolina’s Horseshoe to sit and watch the eclipse with NASA-approved glasses.

Columbia Fireflies
The Columbia Fireflies play the Rome Braves in a matchup that will stop mid-game so fans can watch the eclipse in totality. After the game, local radio stations Big DM 101.3 FM and Hot 103.9 FM will host a party at the Bow Tie Budweiser bar in Spirit Communications Park.

Benedict College
The first 6,000 people who come to Benedict for games, snacks and activities will also get free NASA approved eclipse glasses to watch the celestial event. The Benedict Tigers Marching “Band of Distinction” will also perform during the eclipse.

Charleston

Look to the Sky – Solar Eclipse at the BendThe Charleston Post and Courier and the city of North Charleston will host a free party to celebrate the eclipse at the Bend outdoor music venue. There will be performances by Grammy Award-winning Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, along with representatives from Boeing demonstrating how to build airplanes and spacecraft. The College of Charleston’s Astronomy Department will also be in attendance with a feature presentation of NASA scientists launching weather balloons.

Eclipse on the USS Yorktown
The USS Yorktown will be one of the last places in the US where you can see the eclipse. The first 3,000 people that make it to the aircraft carrier will get NASA-approved sun glasses. Several NASA officials will be on board to answer any eclipse questions and talk about the position of the sun in the solar system.

Childrens Museum of the Lowcountry
Programming for the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry starts at 9 a.m. and will run well past the eclipse. Kids will get to learn why eclipses occur as well as other interesting facts about the solar system.

Charleston Eclipse Kayak Tours
Anyone who wants to watch the eclipse from the water can find a spot with Kayak Charleston on several different viewing sites.

Eclipse Party at Pier 101 on Folly Beach
You don’t need to be downtown to watch the eclipse. Folly Beach will host their own eclipse party on Pier 101. In addition to the beach landscape, Folly Beach will have live music and games for attendees.

Upstate

Blue Jar Barn
The popular wedding spot will ramp up its services for the eclipse day. Couples wanted to get married during the eclipse can come with 10 visitors and get married during the totality blackout. Don’t know anyone getting married? That is okay the Blue Jar Barn will allow visitors to come be witnesses to the exchange of vows during the moons eclipse of the sun.

Eclipse at the Children’s Museum of the Upstate
Programming goes on all day at the children’s museum. There will be live streams from NASA, which will include presentations from female scientists exploring astronomy. Programming includes storytime for all ages and Space Yoga.

Roper Mountain Science Center
The T.C. Hooper planetarium and Daniels telescope will be running all day for visitors to explore the solar system while they wait for the eclipse. In addition to space activities, the science museum will feature live animals and other nature exhibits to explore.

Eclipse at the Greenville Drive
The Greenville Drive play West Virginia Power. During the eclipse, play will stop so the whole stadium can observe the event.

Clemson Physics and Astronomy Department
The Clemson Physics department will host an all-day event on its campus featuring solar scientists and presentations acceptable for all ages. Before the eclipse, the Tigers Marching band will perform a special concert.

Blackout at Green Pond
On the shores of Lake Hartwell, viewers can see the eclipse with free drink and food sponsored by Anderson County. Anderson University Astronomy Professor Robert Fries will be on-site to provide information and answer questions. Green Pond will be one of the longest spots of totality in the state of South Carolina.

Greenville Zoo Eclipse
Animals are wild and the Greenville Zoo invites visitors to see what strange effect the eclipse will have on over 200 animals. The first 1,000 zoo members gets a pair of NASA approved eclipse glasses.

Eclipse at Furman
Furman opens up Paladin Stadium for visitors wanting to watch the eclipse. Visitors at Furman will have access to all the stadium’s facilities, water and approved glasses are available for free. No tickets are required.

Columbia’s mayor says he takes offense at some of the statues resting on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds, but more so by statues which are not related to the Civil War or Confederacy.

Baltimore’s city council this week voted to remove three Confederate statues from various locations throughout the Maryland city. Meanwhile, protesters ripped down the statue of a confederate solider in Durham, North Carolina on Monday, part of the backlash over violent protests at a white nationalist rally for another Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend

But Mayor Steve Benjamin told MSNBC on Tuesday that the statues he believes are the most disturbing have little to do with the Confederacy. “Several of them have to do with the period post-Reconstruction, in which there were reigns of terror led by the Ku Klux Klan and others like (former Gov.) “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman,” Benjamin said on the Hardball with Chris Matthews program.

Benjamin said he would like to see the statue of J. Marion Sims come down. Sims is recognized for his research which helped establish the field of gynecology, but he also used unwilling slaves for medical experiments. Benjamin says Sims, “tortured slave women and children for years as he developed his treatments for gynecology.”

Tillman’s statue has been the target of criticism for years due to his rise in the post-Reconstruction South with the help of white supremacists groups such as the “Red Shirts” who intimidated, threatened and even killed black voters and whites sympathetic to them. Another statue honors former Confederate general and Gov. Wade Hampton, III, who also benefitted from the “Red Shirts” racial voter suppression.

South Carolina law would require the legislature approve any historical monument removals across South Carolina. Republican leaders have made it clear they do not want to take up the subject, although there is an effort by some Democratic lawmakers to change the law so local governments can have authority to remove some monuments.

“The Charleston branch of the NAACP supports and joins the National Action Network’s call for the removal of slave-holding, states’ rights champion John C. Calhoun’s statue from Charleston’s Marion Square,” the NAACP Charleston branch President Dot Scott said in a press conference on Tuesday.

The statue embodies former South Carolina Senator and Vice President that defended states’ rights to own slaves. He died twelve years before the civil war.

The calls for the removal of the statue come in response to the civil unrest that occurred over the weekend in Charlottesville, VA, where white supremacists rallied. Civil rights activists held counter protests across the country. In Durham, NC, anti-racist protesters toppled a statue of Confederate soldier outside of the courthouse.

The Charleston NAACP branch hopes that the city and state legislature can work together to remove statues that they say idolize slavery. Instead the NAACP would prefer the monuments come down in a peaceful lawful manner than after a tragedy like in how the state took down the Confederate flag at the Statehouse in the aftermath of the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church.

As a start Scott and the NAACP asked the Legislative Black Caucus and the rest of South Carolina’s legislators to repeal the Heritage Act so local municipalities have control over the monuments in their community.

Repealing the Heritage Act, “would allow our state’s cites, towns and communities to decide what monuments and flags should stay and what monuments and flags should be removed,” Scott said.

The Heritage Act passed in 2000 says municipalities cannot remove or alter statues with the consent of a supermajority in the General Assembly

Scott asks for understanding from people who enjoy the history of the Confederacy to see that white supremacists have co-opted their symbols for hatred and bigotry.

“But the time has come for them to admit and accept that their heritage has been amplified, embraced and co-opted by those who promote hatred and white supremacy,” Scott said.

The statue of Calhoun is owned by the city but Marion Square is owned by the Washington Light Infantry and the Sumter guard’s board, which brings into question the city’s flexibility in being able to remove the statue independently.

Along with a rifle and blazer, you’ll need to bring deer tags to the stand this season this South Carolina hunting season.

The state Department of Natural Resources implemented a new tag system in July to help control the deer harvest and promote grow in the deer population. DNR Capt. Billy Downer says, from now on, all deer must be tagged after harvet. Deer hunting begins August 15 for Zone 3 — which covers Columbia, Orangeburg and on down to the coast.

“This is new for a lot of people,” Downer said. “That includes bucks, so all bucks does have to be tagged at the point of kill.”

State legislators passed the changes at the request of hunters who noticed lower numbers of deer on their property. While DNR placed a limit on the number of deer a hunter can harvest, there is still potential for a high yield. After applying for a big game permit, each hunter will receive a total of 11 tags. Three tags will be for unrestricted bucks and eight are date specific doe tags. Hunters can also apply for two additional restricted buck tags and four addition doe tags.

Downer said the new tag regulations will help grow the deer population in the state but that will not be at the expense of hunter’s potential harvest.

“If you used every tag,” Capt. Downer said. “That’s 17 total deer.”

To get hunting as fast as possible, Downer urged hunters not to wait until the last minute to buy a license from Wal-Mart or another non-vendor. At sporting good stores, hunters will have to wait for their tags to come in the mail. Instead, if you purchase from a DNR office, you can get tags printed out immediately. The seven DNR offices across the state can print tags immediately — including an office at the State Fairgrounds.

Researchers say they have discovered a destructive invasive beetle in South Carolina for the first time.

Clemson University announced Thursday the Emerald Ash Borer had been detected in Spartanburg, Oconee and Greenville counties. It was the first time the beetle has been confirmed in South Carolina as it devastated ash trees across the Southeast.

Clemson plant industry professor Steven Long said the beetle will, “kill every ash in South Carolina eventually. Everywhere it has been, it has killed all the ash.”

Long likens the effect of the Emerald Ash Borer to the Dutch Elm Disease that swept from state to state in 2016 and destroyed many varieties of elm. [Read more…]

An environmental group announced Tuesday that over 2 million tons of coal ash have been removed from the banks of the Wateree River as a cleanup effort wraps up at a now-defunct power plant near Eastover.

SELC senior attorney Frank Holleman said hazardous minerals like lead, mercury and arsenic can seep out of the unlined dykes used to hold in the ash and can seep into the groundwater where it mixes with the state’s rivers. SCE&G did not line its older ponds at the facility to prevent seepage, which is now considered best practice. [Read more…]